You might also like
By Shannine O’Neill
**EXCLUISVE**
YOU WILL be shocked to learn that so-called budget supermarket Aldi is now hardly cheaper than posh brands like Marks and Spencer as revealed by this bargain hunter who shared her tips to beat budget food inflation.
Content Creator Kathryn Leech (27) from Manchester, United Kingdom has found that ‘budget’ supermarkets are now nearly the same price as more ‘high end’ supermarkets for your everyday essentials.
Since tracking her money-savings hacks through her videos on TikTok, Kat has noticed that fresh fruit and vegetable pricing has inflated immensely in the past few months, with a general one-kilogram bag of carrots raising from 50-pence to 60-pence and cucumbers inflating from 60-pence to 75-pence.
But fruit and vegetables aren’t the only items seeing a price increase recently, as Kat has noticed plenty of other essentials being hit by inflation, as two-pints of milk was priced at 1.15-pounds at the beginning of the year, but now stands at 1.25-pounds.
A bag of pasta averaged around 85-pence, which has now risen to 95-pence, a pack of eight sausages were around 1.50-pounds, but now have risen to two-pounds.
A big hit to a lot of people’s lives would have been the infamous meal deals that you can grab from nearly every supermarket as a cheap and cheerful lunch at around three-pounds, but have quickly increased to at least 3.50-pounds to even four-pounds in many supermarkets.
Although many of these prices don’t seem like a huge difference, the small price inflations add up in the long-run, making you pay more for the everyday essentials you once turned to for a bargain.
This comes after the Office for National Statistics has pointed to an 18-percent rise in vegetable prices, which has been the highest since February 2009.
Kat compared prices of the basic essential foods that most of us have in our fridge or pantry at any time, in both Marks and Spencers and Aldi.
Kat was surprised by her findings as many assume the British supermarket giant M&S would still be more expensive than Aldi, which has been hailed as more ‘budget friendly’.
However, this was not the case for most of the items Kat picked up, as every item was the same price, or no more than five-pence more in M&S than Aldi.
Kat has seen a huge increase in price with food and drink in the past couple months while making money-saving videos on her TikTok account @katsaves.
Now she has realised that even the ‘budget friendly’ supermarkets such as Aldi that many of the British public once relied on for their cheaper shops, are upping their prices on everyday essentials.
With prices rising rapidly, and no sign of stopping soon, Kat has divulged her secrets to finding the best deals and saving you the most money during the cost of living crisis.
“I’ve been doing price comparison videos for about six months now and I’ve noticed everything has increased,” she said.
“For example one-kilogram of carrots used to be 50-pence everywhere and it’s currently 60-pence and a lot of fruit and vegetable items have increased by at least ten-pence or more, cucumbers were 60-pence a few months ago and are now 75-pence.
“I was surprised that a budget supermarket and a high end supermarket have a lot of the same priced products.
“Between M&S and Aldi I found a lot of products that were the same price, but M&S actually had cheaper eggs and sugar which I think a lot people aren’t aware of, the price difference is only about five-pence but I think this is a big saving as they’re items most people buy regularly.”
Kat’s main advice in saving money during your weekly shopping is to buy in bulk and use each supermarket’s money-saving schemes where you can.
“Buy in bulk if you can and check the price label carefully as it’s better to look at the price per weight,” she said.
“Meal plan every week by basing meals on items I already have in my cupboards.
“Set a budget and don’t impulse buy.
“Shop around to see where I can get the best deal.
“Plan ahead, frozen’s often cheaper than fresh, get the app and loyalty card for every shop, use the coupons and offers only if it’s something you need anyway, don’t impulse buy, buy loose fruit and veg.”
Kat’s Top Five Money Saving Tips:
-
Plan your meals ahead of time.
-
Meal prep at the beginning of the week.
-
Check for loyalty cards or apps for each individual supermarket.
-
Look at the price of loose fruit and vegetables as they’re often cheaper by their weight than in packs.
-
Don’t impulse buy and stick to a weekly food list.
ENDS
